“Experience and anecdotal reports have taught us that some forms of the trace-mineral silicon improve skin, hair, nails and joint mobility. Animal studies added support to these observations, but until recently, there were few human studies. Now, the exciting news is that human studies including clinical trials, verify that at least one form of silicon, called silicic acid, or more specific, orthosilicic acid (OSA), is indeed significantly effective in these roles.
Silicon is essential to our health, but, unfortunately, few realize it. I have written about the role of silicon in human health several times in this column over the years and in my 1983 book,Trace Elements, Hair Analysis and Nutrition. In my August 1987 column, “Silicon: Soon to Be Essential, ” I reviewed the evidence supporting that silicon was indeed a dietary essential in humans as well as other animals. In 1996, Dr. Forrest Nielsen of the USDA Grand Forks Human Nutrition Center and a longtime trace-mineral researcher, wrote in Present Knowledge in Nutrition, that “ample circumstantial evidence exists to indicate that silicon is an essential nutrient for higher animals, including humans. “

"Experience and anecdotal reports have taught us that some forms of the trace-mineral silicon improve skin, hair, nails and joint mobility. Animal studies added support to these observations, but until recently, there were few human studies. Now, the exciting news is that human studies including clinical trials, verify that at least one form of silicon, called silicic acid, or more specific, orthosilicic acid (OSA), is indeed significantly effective in these roles.
Silicon is essential to our health, but, unfortunately, few realize it. I have written about the role of silicon in human health several times in this column over the years and in my 1983 book,Trace Elements, Hair Analysis and Nutrition. In my August 1987 column, "Silicon: Soon to Be Essential, " I reviewed the evidence supporting that silicon was indeed a dietary essential in humans as well as other animals. In 1996, Dr. Forrest Nielsen of the USDA Grand Forks Human Nutrition Center and a longtime trace-mineral researcher, wrote in Present Knowledge in Nutrition, that "ample circumstantial evidence exists to indicate that silicon is an essential nutrient for higher animals, including humans. "